Nick Keizer Making His Case in Chiefs' Backup Tight End Battle
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Nick Keizer didn’t have the opportunity to take the field in last year’s Super Bowl season.
He did have the chance to learn and grow and develop as a member of the practice squad, however. The experiences are beginning to pay off as Keizer competes to replace former Chief Blake Bell as an option as KC's new second tight end.
“As far as last year, being on the practice squad, I spent a year here and learned the offense being behind [Travis Kelce] and Blake Bell,” Keizer said in a press conference with reporters. “It was a big year for me to just absorb everything and kind of learn. Now, I’m able to use that and I look forward to growing every day.”
Keizer is entering his second season with the Chiefs, his third in the NFL. He has not played a snap outside of preseason games, serving the maximum allowed time the practice squad.
Due to the minor injuries of Deon Yelder and Ricky Seals-Jones, Keizer had the chance to show his development at training camp.
Keizer said he spent the offseason developing speed, agility and route running — all of which help him fit into the Chiefs’ offense.
“I feel like I provide good blocking elements to the offense, which we have a lot of run schemes that the tight ends are very involved in at the point of attack,” Keizer said. “I feel like that’s something I can bring to the table and help displace guys and create holes. As well as the other side of the game, just route running and stuff. Just being crisp and knowing my assignment. I feel like that’s something I’m able to do.”
Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said he’s noticed Keizer’s development, something he attributes to tight end coach Tom Melvin.
“He’s done a great job of getting Nick ready," Bieniemy said. "Now, we got a number of guys that are stepping up. We got Ricky back in the mix. Ricky has done a heck of a job so far when he’s had the opportunity to be out there. Deon Yelder. Also we got the new kid in (Daniel) Helm, and he’s picked up the offense pretty good. We’re expecting all of those guys to contribute. You’re always going to hear me say this — we want all of them to understand how important it is to be ready, so we coach our guys to be the starter because you never know what may happen, and that next man has to be ready.”
Keizer embraced the next-man-up mentality while Yelder and Seals-Jones sat out of practice. Both have since returned, but their absence gave him the chance to understand his potential role if he is selected as the Chiefs’ next TE2.
“This is a very good offense,” Keizer said. “There’s a lot of elements to it which is great because it opens up a lot of holes, makes it very explosive, but there’s a lot of little details to be focused on… It can be challenging and something that every once in a while, I’ll miss a read or something and that’s something that gets corrected with the quarterback or with my coach and they spend a lot of time and they’ve been patient, I’ve been working really hard, getting into the playbook and trying to get the reps, as many as I can. The more reps I get, the better I feel like I get.”
